Breitbart takes its pro-Trump evangelism to the Bernie Bros.
Supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders rallied in front of Philadelphia City Hall during the Democratic National Convention this past week. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders rallied in front of Philadelphia City Hall during the Democratic National Convention this past week. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Donald Trump is trying very hard to convert — though not exactly "woo," strictly speaking — Bernie Sanders supporters. He has tweeted about the runner-up in the Democratic presidential nominating contest two dozen times this week alone.
Here's a sampling:
Criticizing Sanders (I-Vt.) might not be the best way to win over his backers, but Trump is clearly attempting to channel the frustrations they felt throughout the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, where the senator's defeat to Hillary Clinton became absolutely, irreversibly official. The Republican presidential nominee is pitching himself, a self-styled political outsider, as more closely aligned with the interests of disaffected Sanders fans than Clinton.
Trump has a media ally in his evangelism. Breitbart News, the rambunctious conservative website that has lavished favorable coverage on the business mogul since early in the race, is also courting Sanders supporters. This is partly self-serving — what media outlet couldn't use more readers? — and partly in service of Breitbart's favorite candidate, who has alienated some members of his own party with his polarizing rhetoric but could potentially make up for it by poaching voters who participated in the Democratic primary.
Matt Boyle, Breitbart's Washington political editor, allowed Vice News to follow him and his team as they covered the Democratic National Convention in Philly and made overtures to the Sanders crowd.
"Our job here is to go in there, find the stories that are not being told with these Bernie delegates and give them a voice," Boyle says in a Vice video.
"I think, in many cases, we agree more with the Bernie Sanders people, in that there's a rigged political system out there, than we agree with establishment Republicans like Paul Ryan," he says at another point.
Breitbart technology editor Milo Yiannopoulos adds: "Bernie people are our people. They're very similar to us in all sorts of ways, and to be that kind of libertarian, or whatever, you kind of have to be a Trump supporter because there's really no other option."
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